I drunk what:Space_Poet: be happy and do what makes you happy without making others unhappy

what should we do with all the sadists?

They can do whatever they want to do with each other and the people that don't care about being hurt by them. when they cross the line and hurt me or others like me then they can be arrested for their crimes or mitigated, ignored, and shunned.

Space_Poet: Live without hurting others

no vaccines for your society?

Huh? Vaccines? I really don't have an opinion about them for the most part unless you want to ask something a little more specific.

also do you mean other life or just people?

I mean all life, but you have to be obtuse to realize that life takes other life to sustain, so you take only what you need. And when you take more than you need you should try to give back in anyway you can.

Space_Poet: treat all life as sacred

are you against abortion?

Nope.

do you eat meat?

Yep. If you have more specific questions about "why" that would be preferable but I feel your tactic is just trying to paint me as a hypocrite, which we all are to some degree, I just try to mitigate my degree to being a better person compared to someone that cares nothing of the esoteric values of life, or worse, acts against them.

mongbiohazard:Actually, it was your argument that ridicule isn't the proper response to ridiculous ideas.

That's not what I said at all. I've said multiple times that ridicule isn't a great form of communication and that if all you have to offer is ridicule that says more about you than the person you are ridiculing. I'll go a step further and say if all you have is ridicule then you're most likely engaging in some type of ad hominem, strawman, red herring argument.

I love by neighbor by not bothering them in the slightest. I say hello and ask how they are doing when I happen to see them in their driveways, and am polite if they ever knock on my door. Frankly, if I didn't see them coming out of their houses occasionally I wouldn't know them at all and I probably wouldn't be able to pick any of them out of a lineup if I tried. I just try not to bug people.

Space_Poet:They can do whatever they want to do with each other and the people that don't care about being hurt by them. when they cross the line and hurt me or others like me then they can be arrested for their crimes or mitigated, ignored, and shunned.

i like the idea of ignoring our problems, that usually fixes stuff

Space_Poet:Huh? Vaccines? I really don't have an opinion about them for the most part unless you want to ask something a little more specific.

Space_Poet:I mean all life, but you have to be obtuse to realize that life takes other life to sustain, so you take only what you need. And when you take more than you need you should try to give back in anyway you can.

do you need happiness?

Space_Poet:Yep. If you have more specific questions about "why" that would be preferable

why do you eat meat if you consider harm to any life bad and said that we should treat all life as sacred? which is it?

Space_Poet:but I feel your tactic is just trying to paint me as a hypocrite

i was merely asking about your beliefs. if you find your beliefs disturbing your quarrel is not with me

Yeah - but the problem is that the paranoid mentality perceives anything that isn't 100% agreement as persecution and/or ridicule - and the more bizarre and absurd people's beliefs are, the more likely they are to be that way. So while you are right that there is little percentage in deliberately "ridiculing' people, there are many cases where avoiding the perception that one is engaging in ridicule would require one either to lie or remain silent.

And ridiculing someone who is paranoid helps how? It will accomplish at least one thing and that is further entrenchment.

Deucednuisance:This, from a guy who still can't seem to distinguish "ridicule" from "being worthy of ridicule" and "having only ridicule at one's disposal".

So you say. Your assertion is bare.

Deucednuisance:Just because one engages in ridicule doesn't mean (or even imply) that they have nothing else. And even so, ridicule is a hell of a lot more than what you're bringing. Which (so far) is "nothing".

I haven't said that because one engages in ridicule that it's all they have. That you have to distort what I've said shows that my point has been made just fine.

Too Pretty For Prison:Ah yes, love everyone. Except the queers. Can't love them. Oh, and the fornicators - they're sinners you know. And that family over there doesn't tithe, so let's not include them. And I heard that guy over there skipped church last week to watch a football game - he's obviously not a true believer. I heard that lady over there voted Democrat - I saw the sticker on her car. She obviously doesn't practice what we preach. Mary is divorced - she doesn't follow god's word, so she's out, too. I heard John's daughter got an abortion when she was 15. That whole family is just nothing but trouble.

Well, I guess the ten of us can just sit here in our smugness and know that we're god's favorites because we do everything we are supposed to.

Are you my mother in law? If you aren't a 55yo bigot from Montgomery, AL, you may need to be checked for possession, because you channelled her too easily.

Doesn't seem to be what the study found. They even included non-religious in there, and I'd bet everyone is just as likely to fall into this. They were told they had something in common with the other person they were interacting with. That will make people more generous and trusting of the other person. I doubt it even has to be religion. You could probably do this with hobbies and get a similar result.

Possibly, but the study could have perhaps invalidated that conclusion, or at least made it a less likely explanation had they told the participants that the others followed competing/conflicting religions.

Then we would have possibly seen how religion can be a divisive factor.

I should be in the kitchen:The number 7 and the letter Q!: t3knomanser: The number 7 and the letter Q!: Any system that teaches good morals can help a person love their neighbor

I sincerely doubt that pro-social behavior is something that can be learned. I think that human beings, by and large, instinctively engage in pro-social behaviors. There are inherent conflicts with our limitations in that regard (we're great in societies of 20ish people, we start failing in societies of thousands, and it gets all farked up when you try and build a society of millions), but that's not because we need to learn to "love our neighbor". We simply need to recognize that these strangers are our neighbor.

We are social animals, and we are inherently compassionate and kind to our peers. Those that are not are deviants, and I do not believe that education fixes it- it's a biological issue that must be treated.

Interesting idea. I honestly haven't studied human instinctual behavior in detail (I'm an English teacher) but now I've got something to look up online when the kids are napping. Thanks.

You and t3knomanser may find this book interesting: The Moral Landscape. The author makes the argument that essentially, morality comes from biology and the fact that humans are social beings, and not religion. I'm not quite finished yet but it's a pretty interesting read and a position I haven't heard laid out often enough. I picked it up to further arm myself against those who tell me I have no moral compass and am a selfish, horrible person because I'm an atheist. Obviously, I know that isn't true but I like being able to argue my point beyond just pointing at myself. :-)

Thanks for the book recommendation, I just found it online and it is a very interesting read as you suggested. And that's coming from a Christian lol.

encyclopediaplushuman:Religion is about as effective at spreading love and tolerance as the Catholic church is about cleansing the world of pedophiles.

But what does spread love and tolerance?

Honest question here. What, for you, is the appeal of the pony thing? My kids love the show (not said as an insult. They love Phineas and Ferb too, and I can certainly enjoy that show) but I can't seem to connect to it. Does the show have some kind of pedigree, or contain in-jokes, that I'm not getting?

Thanks for answering if you've got the time. I'm new here, and figure I probably missed a lot of pony discussion in the past.

The number 7 and the letter Q!:encyclopediaplushuman: Religion is about as effective at spreading love and tolerance as the Catholic church is about cleansing the world of pedophiles.

But what does spread love and tolerance?

Honest question here. What, for you, is the appeal of the pony thing? My kids love the show (not said as an insult. They love Phineas and Ferb too, and I can certainly enjoy that show) but I can't seem to connect to it. Does the show have some kind of pedigree, or contain in-jokes, that I'm not getting?

Thanks for answering if you've got the time. I'm new here, and figure I probably missed a lot of pony discussion in the past.

there is a long documentary if you're interested, but you might learn more than you wanted to know

I drunk what:The number 7 and the letter Q!: encyclopediaplushuman: Religion is about as effective at spreading love and tolerance as the Catholic church is about cleansing the world of pedophiles.

But what does spread love and tolerance?

Honest question here. What, for you, is the appeal of the pony thing? My kids love the show (not said as an insult. They love Phineas and Ferb too, and I can certainly enjoy that show) but I can't seem to connect to it. Does the show have some kind of pedigree, or contain in-jokes, that I'm not getting?

Thanks for answering if you've got the time. I'm new here, and figure I probably missed a lot of pony discussion in the past.

there is a long documentary if you're interested, but you might learn more than you wanted to know

The number 7 and the letter Q!:encyclopediaplushuman: Religion is about as effective at spreading love and tolerance as the Catholic church is about cleansing the world of pedophiles.

But what does spread love and tolerance?

Honest question here. What, for you, is the appeal of the pony thing? My kids love the show (not said as an insult. They love Phineas and Ferb too, and I can certainly enjoy that show) but I can't seem to connect to it. Does the show have some kind of pedigree, or contain in-jokes, that I'm not getting?

Thanks for answering if you've got the time. I'm new here, and figure I probably missed a lot of pony discussion in the past.

It's not just the show. Yes, it's great. It has a lot of references only adults (or teens) would probably get. They're hidden in the background and all around but you generally have to look for them or just notice them. There's a ton of interesting things in the show that are cool. But what is coolest is the fandom. Honestly I've met more people, done more things, and learned the most from the fandom than any other specific engagement I've been attached to. Moreover, the show interacted with the fans a lot in Season 2, and besides that, the animation they do is always cool.

There's a lot more to it than that, and honestly if you want some info on personal stories (which give a lot of clarity into it), and that can be found all around. Try asking some people who are serious (not trying to troll or anything).

encyclopediaplushuman:The number 7 and the letter Q!: encyclopediaplushuman: Religion is about as effective at spreading love and tolerance as the Catholic church is about cleansing the world of pedophiles.

But what does spread love and tolerance?

Honest question here. What, for you, is the appeal of the pony thing? My kids love the show (not said as an insult. They love Phineas and Ferb too, and I can certainly enjoy that show) but I can't seem to connect to it. Does the show have some kind of pedigree, or contain in-jokes, that I'm not getting?

Thanks for answering if you've got the time. I'm new here, and figure I probably missed a lot of pony discussion in the past.

It's not just the show. Yes, it's great. It has a lot of references only adults (or teens) would probably get. They're hidden in the background and all around but you generally have to look for them or just notice them. There's a ton of interesting things in the show that are cool. But what is coolest is the fandom. Honestly I've met more people, done more things, and learned the most from the fandom than any other specific engagement I've been attached to. Moreover, the show interacted with the fans a lot in Season 2, and besides that, the animation they do is always cool.

There's a lot more to it than that, and honestly if you want some info on personal stories (which give a lot of clarity into it), and that can be found all around. Try asking some people who are serious (not trying to troll or anything).

Oh and I drunk what posted the wrong link, this is the actual long documentary.

There is a biblical passage that warns against lukewarm attitudes. It is better to be an impassioned atheist than a religious hypocrite who does not really try.I think the fire I see from the atheists who post here is a healthy thing. They have the most to gain spiritually, because they care. They care a lot.

Religion cannot accurately depict how we are connected to one another. Some spiritual texts get very close, but few people know them well. Humanity is connected to one another as well as we are to the world around us. We need harmony to survive. You do not need to believe in God to understand this. No matter how we get there we need to find that sweet spot of harmony where we and nature can survive together. Whatever works is a good starting point.